6 days ago
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Ricardo Rodriguez joined AC Milan just as the club were exiting the ‘banter era’ and now, he commented on several topics.
The late 2010s saw Milan start to walk away from the humiliating period in the middle of the decade. There were, of course, still glimpses of that era still present, but as the 20s drew closer, the Rossoneri also started to look more competent.
Arriving in the summer of 2017, Rodriguez played 74 times between July of that year and January 2020, when he left for PSV in the Netherlands, before leaving permanently in the summer for Torino, where he remained for four years.
Rodriguez’s comments
Earlier in the season, he spoke a lot about his time at the club, and today, he touched on the subject again. However, when he spoke to MilanNews‘ Alessandro Schiavone, the focus was more on the present, even if there were a few anecdotes from his time with the Diavolo.
You’ve had Giampaolo, Gattuso, and Pioli: which coach did you get along best with?
“Everyone taught me something, really. Even with Pioli, with everyone really. And then there was Montella, too. With those two and with Giampaolo and Gattuso, I can’t just name one. With all of them I did something good…”
Like Ronaldinho, you stayed at Milan for exactly two and a half years. Would you have liked to stay longer?
“Look, I’ve always tried to give my best. But in the end, these are decisions made by the club, which wanted something else…”
Did they want to send you away?
“No, no, no. They didn’t want to give me up. In fact, they were happy for me to stay with Theo. But I wanted to play more, and I knew that after Theo arrived, I wouldn’t have much space left. I was the one who wanted to leave; no one kicked me out. They would have been happy if I had stayed.”
It was said that a large part of that team didn’t like Leonardo Bonucci…
“That’s not true. I had a great relationship with Bonucci. We had a great relationship, and I think others did too. I can’t say anything else about that now.”
AC Milan is up there, competing for the league title with Napoli, Roma, and Inter. Can the Rossoneri win their second Scudetto in four years?
“I hope so for Milan. They’re a great team coached by a great manager… a great manager like Allegri who knows what he’s doing. Let’s see what the players do.”
Your heir on that wing is Pervis Estupiñán, South American like you (Ricardo Rodriguez’s mother, Marcela, is Chilean). What do you think of the former Brighton full-back?
“He’s good, he’s good. They signed him because they saw some qualities in him. So far, he’s doing well.”
Is there anyone in particular from this Milan team who has impressed you?
“I’ve played with many of them. Modric is great… but there are many good players at Milan, including my friend Jashari. At Torino, I played with Ricci. I hope Milan does well.”
The club paid nearly €40 million to acquire Jashari from Club Brugge after a lengthy back-and-forth. Too much?
“The money Ardon was paid is significant. But he’s a good guy and a strong player who can grow a lot at Milan. He’s injured now, but he’ll come back strong, trust me.”
At Torino, you played with Ricci, who was playing sparingly before Rabiot’s injury. Modric overshadowed him, but can he still learn from him at 24?
“Of course, you can always learn from a great player. Samuele is growing, and I think he’ll do well at Milan because he has so many good qualities. His greatest quality? His vision.”
Will your former coach at AC Milan, Gattuso, lead Italy to the World Cup after 12 years?
“We’ll see, but he’s definitely doing well, and we hope so. Italy must always be there at the World Cup. Always.”
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